A European Union delegation which has been touring the Horn of Africa to try to revive efforts to end the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict says its meetings have been fruitful.

The EU team, led by the Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, Rino Serri, has met the presidents of the two countries as well as a number of top officials in the region.

Its visit comes after the peace plan of the Organisation of African Unity, which calls for a ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from the disputed border region, became bogged down over technicalities.

A member of the delegation said he thought it would now be possible for the OAU mediator to bring the talks to a successful conclusion.

The EU team discussed the issue with top United States officials before leaving for the Horn of Africa.

They met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in Asmara, before travelling to Addis Ababa for talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim.

The Ethiopian authorities welcomed Mr Serri's visit as he is backing the OAU proposal.

They say they have come a long way in the peace process with the OAU and they do not want to go back to square one.

Implementation

Ethiopia and Eritrea both say they have accepted the OAU proposals to end their border war, which call for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from the disputed border region.

But the process has stalled over the technical details of the implementation of the peace plan.

The EU delegation is not thought to have brought any new peace plan, but instead concentrated on the implementation of the OAU proposal brokered last year by the current OAU chairman, Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika.

Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war over a territorial dispute in May 1998. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict, with the heaviest fighting taking place in the Badme area early last year.

Relations between the two neighbours have been extremely tense since then.

In October Ethiopia reported that its troops had repelled what it said was an Eritrean attack in the Badme region.